MLB.com's Carrie Muskat has been covering Major League Baseball since 1981 and is the author of "Banks to Sandberg to Grace: Five Decades of Love and Frustration with the Cubs." You can follow her on Twitter @CarrieMuskat. Here, she blogs about the Cubs.

1/1 Happy new year

Best wishes to Cubs fans for a safe, prosperous, healthy, and winning new year in 2012. Here’s hoping the Cubs’ resolutions include doing the little things, avoiding distractions, letting the kids play, and finishing above .500 (the last time they had back to back 90-loss seasons was 1999-2000). Opening Day is April 5 vs. the Nationals. How about Matt Garza vs. Stephen Strasburg? Or, will it be Ryan Dempster vs. Strasburg, with Garza wearing another uniform? Plenty of time for Theo & Co. to make changes before pitchers and catchers report to Mesa, Ariz.

And congrats (I think) to joeydafish, who led all the world in 2011 by posting 481 comments on the blog. Next up, Petrey10 with 96. Hustlelikereed was third with 60 comments.

OMG. Oh well….here we go again…
IF Garza is gone it certainly would be a coin toss between the two underacheiving, practically unmovable, albatross “studs” that Hendry saddled this team with by handing out contracts based on PAST PERFORMANCE. Should we be surprised if Sveum makes a statement and has an opening day surprise starter that may impressed him in spring training? My new year resolution is to completley let all the bumbling, idiocy of the Hendry years go….any takers? Ha! We shall see, BRING ON THE NEW YEAR! Thanks Carrie! (I think). By the way, did I have more comments than Soriano had strikeouts???

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